In last month’s Edinburgh University Students’ Association (EUSA) meeting, over 630 students voted in favor of a motion of “no confidence” regarding the University’s Senior Leadership Team’s ability to address key student concerns.
The motion outlined various issues facing students but highlighted increases in the cost of housing as a leading concern..
The motion calls for the university to overturn its recent decision to increase accommodation prices by 8%. While this figure was provided by EUSA, there is evidence that rent increases are far higher than 8% in some university accommodation. For instance, for a standard single room in Kincaid’s Court, fees are set to increase from £5,247 to a staggering £6,540 for the 2024/2025 academic year. This represents a 25% increase.
Kincaid’s Court is not unique. 38 South Clerk Street is also set to increase from £5,247 to £6,540 and other, more inexpensive flats such as College Wynd, are set to increase their prices from £4677 to £5316, a 14% increase. None of these price increases are expected to be accompanied by significant improvements to the accommodations. While this is by no means a comprehensive list of student accommodation price increases, the accommodations used as examples were not cherry picked.
Unfortunately, the plurality of students who rent from private landlords are also struggling. According to a recent CityLets report, the average cost for a three person flat in Edinburgh is £1,909 (or £636 per person) or £2,496 for a four person flat (or £624 per person). While these figures give us a rough idea of prices for student flats, it is likely that many students pay more. These figures encompass both HMO and non-HMO licensed properties, potentially overlooking discrepancies between the two. While no official figures track this discrepancy, HMO licensed properties are likely more expensive (due to the cost of the license and limited supply). Moreover, the university’s location in the city centre means that a significant number of students reside in more expensive flats located in central areas.
We know that Edinburgh students are struggling to pay these increased rents. For Scottish students on loans, rent can almost single handedly exhaust their £8,000 maximum student loan. According to a 2023 survey from Slurp, 21.1% of non-first year undergraduate students surveyed started semester one without having signed a tenancy agreement.
While keeping the prices of university-owned accommodation below market rate will help first-year students, housing policy reform should be endorsed and championed by the EUSA and the university to tackle the structural housing shortage inflating the cost of rent.
Image via Alex Baxter